Patients that do not pay taxes will be entitled to limited range of health care services in Latvia

After the Latvian health sector’s reform, those patients that do not make social security contributions will only be entitled to family physicians’ services, emergency care and treatment of some specific conditions, information released by the Health Ministry suggests LETA.

LETA was told at the ministry that the full range of health care services will be made available to persons that make social security contributions and those who are exempt from the social tax, for instance, children younger than 18, pensioners, jobless persons registered with the State Employment Agency, destitute persons and other groups. The full list of these groups will be provided in the respective legislation.

Since there are certain groups of employed persons, such as microenterprises, persons engaged in individual commercial activity, persons receiving their pay in the form of royalties and others that do not make social security contributions, they will be able to receive the full range of health care services by making a monthly payment.

The size of this monthly payment has yet to be determined as the issue is still to be debated, the Health Ministry said. Politicians have proposed sums in the range between EUR 10 and EUR 20.

As reported, the Latvian ruling coalition partners have reached an agreement on raising mandatory social insurance contributions, while further discussions will be held on progressivity of the personal income tax, Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis (Greens/Farmers) told the press after the coalition meeting today.

Social insurance contributions will be raised in order to raise financing for the health care sector. It is planned that the social insurance contributions will be raised by 1 percentage point – 0.5% for contributions paid by employers, and 0.5% for employees. A special payment might be set for those people who do not pay social tax. The partners have not discussed the size of this payment, but it might be tied to the average wage.

“Knowing entrepreneurship”: challenges for the Baltics’ authorities There at least two main world’s resources for analysing entrepreneurship: the World Bank yearly reports “doing business” and the OECD regional/national analysis. For already eight years the Amway reports are becoming popular as well. These reports make policy makers better understand the ways to assist business.